1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to portable grills, and in particular, to portable grills that can be stowed using frame members of the grills as containers, and which can be stabilized during use in a fully assembled state by placing grill bars under tension.
2. Description of Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 6,546,851 discloses a portable cooking grill having a pair of linear side retaining members, each having a horizontal and a vertical borehole at both ends and each having a plurality of sockets regularly spaced apart along one side of each side retaining member. The ends of a plurality of transverse rods can be registered within opposing sockets and the assembly is secured in place with clamping rods with threaded fasteners, forming a rigid grilling surface. The entire assembly may be disassembled and the components may be stored and transported in a tube or similar container.
US Pat. App. Pub. No. US 20070095336 discloses a take-apart picnic grill that includes two hollow profiles to be disposed parallel to each during assembly and connected by a plurality of rods to form a grilling surface. Threaded fasteners are also used to hold the assembly together during use. The hollow profiles are tubes, the diameter of one of which is sufficiently larger than the other to allow the tube with the smaller diameter to be inserted inside the tube with the larger diameter for transport purposes. In addition, all other components of the grill can be stored within the tubes for transportation.